Roasted Parsnip and Parmesan Soup

I cook this at Christmas and it's a belter. You'll need:

450g parsnips
50g parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
15g butter
1 medium sized onion
1 tablespoon plain flour
1.3 litres chicken stock
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons double cream

Ok, start by heating the oven to 200c/gas mark 6. Peel the parsnips and cut them into lengths (halved and halved again is fine). Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the parsnips in the water for about three minutes until they're just starting to soften (check by inserting the tip of a knife into one of them) - don't overcook, you want your parsnips to remain looking like parsnips! While they're cooking, grate the parmesan, and, when the oven is hot, pour the olive oil into a roasting tray and put in the oven for about 4 mins to heat up.

Drain the parsnips and tip them into the heated roasting tray, ensuring the parsnips all get covered in the hot oil. Sprinkle the parmesan over the parsnips, dot with butter, then roast for about 45 mins, basting frequently. While they're cooking, peel and finely chop the onion.

Take out the parsnips at the end of the cooking time, and spoon off the oil in the roasting tray into a heavy based large pan (there should be enough oil to fry the onion, but if it looks a bit meagre add a tiny bit more oil). Put in the chopped onion and cook, gently, until the onion is softened (about 5 mins). While that's cooking, make up the chicken stock (I use Kallo cubes). Don't make the stock too strong, one cube is easily enough for the amount of liquid needed.

When the onion has softened, stir in the flour and cooking, stirring constantly, for about a minute, then, slowly at first, add the hot stock, again stirring all the time. The flour will make the stock thicken at first, which is what you want. Add the rest of the stock, then all the parsnips from the roasting tray, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about ten minutes.

Turn off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Finely liquidise the parsnips and stock (you don't want your soup to be full of crunchy bits of parsnip, so really blitz it), add the cream and some seasoning to taste (be careful not to oversalt as the parmesan is already quite salty, but this soup is good with generous amounts of freshly milled black pepper), then serve.

Worth the effort, I'm sure you'll agree!